Chapter 9
The Congress
The Congress
•It is a paradox
•Public opinion of Congress is low while most people regard their own
representatives with satisfaction
•Congress spends a good amount of time serving their constituents
Why was Congress Created?
• Founders feared tyrannical rulers
• Founders also had experienced the weakness of the
congress under the Articles of Confederation
• Bicameralism attempts to balance the power among large and small
states
The Powers of Congress
The Constitution is vague and specific about congressional power:
• Enumerated powers
•come from Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution
•control of money, taxation, spending, regulating commerce
•regulation of trade beyond state borders
•regulation of military
•defining the court structure
• Implied powers
•come from the necessary and proper clause
•come from the Supreme Court’s ruling in McCulloch v. Maryland
in 1819
• allows Congress to enact laws that may assist the Congress in
accomplishing goals directly related to the enumerated powers
The Functions of Congress
• Lawmaking: Most laws originate from the executive branch. Others come from
special interests and parties. Logrolling or offering support for another’s bill in
return for support for their bill.
• Constituent service (casework): A considerable amount of time is spent doing this
The “Ombudsman” role strongly benefits the member of Congress
• Representing
•as a trustee: trust me
•as an instructed delegate: Do what we tell you to do
•as a combination of roles
• Oversight: Follow up on laws which Congress has passed
• Public education: Whenever there are meetings, hearings, debates on issues, agenda
setting. Congress decides what the political agenda is going to be
• Conflict resolution: Solving differences among special interest groups
House and Senate Differences
• House: More members means more rules
• Rules Committee: Proposes time limitations for debate
• Senate: Permits extended debate
– Filibustering, but…
– Rule 22 ends debate with a Cloture vote
– More Prestige due to lower number of senators
– However, items move faster in the House than in the Senate
because of the organizational structure and function
Congresspersons and the Citizenry:
A Comparison
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Not typical
Tend to be older
White, male, Protestant, professional – mostly lawyers
The 2000 election brought changes
14 women in the Senate
62 women in the House
• Legislators are getting younger
Congressional Elections
• Operated by individual state governments (decentralized)
•Every district contains about 600,000 people
• House of Representatives
•elected every two years by popular ballot
•number of seats is determined by population
•each state has at least one representative
•each district has about a half million residents
•Rules Committee (gate-keeping power)
• Remember: The re-election goal is the strongest motivator behind the
activities of the Congress (Advertising, credit claiming, and position
taking)
• U.S. Senate
•elected every six years
•by popular ballot (since ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment)
•one third of the Senate is elected every two years
•each state has two Senators
Congressional Elections Cont.
• $5 million for a Senate seat
• $770,000 for a House seat
• Candidates have to win a direct primary by party identifiers
before the general election
• Midterm elections are usually a response to incumbency issues
Congressional Reapportionment
• Reapportionment – the allocations of seats in the House of
Representatives to each state after each census
vs.
• Redistricting – the redrawing of the boundaries of the districts within
each state
•Gerrymandering: Altering the shape of the district to maximize its
electoral strength at the expense of the minority party
•Minority-Majority districts: Interpreting the Voting Rights Act of
1965, created congressional districts in the 1990s, that would
maximize the voting power of minority groups (NC’s 12th District)
•But it violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution
Pay, Perks and Privileges
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Pay: In 2001 it was $158,100 a year
Speaker: $203,000
Majority and Minority Leaders: $175,700
Benefits: Franking privileges, huge staffs, Congressional
Research Service (a computer-based record of legislative
status of major bills that are up for consideration)
• Arrest/immunity clause
The Committee Structure of Congress
Thousands of bills are introduced in every session of Congress
The committee system (“little legislatures”) is a way to provide for
specialization, or a division of legislative labor
Chairpersons wield much power over the committee’s agenda
• Standing committees: (most important) permanent bodies that are
established by the rules of each chamber of Congress and continue
from session to session
•There are many Subcommittees
• Select committees: Created for a limited time for a specific purpose.
They disband after they report
• Joint committees: Formed by the concurrent action of both chambers
of Congress and consists of members of both chambers. May be
permanent or temporary
• Conference committees: Formed for the purpose of achieving
agreement on the exact wording of a bill when the two chambers pass
legislative proposals in different forms (“third house of Congress”).
They have much power over changes in the bill
The Selection of Committee Members
• House: Appointed to standing committee by the Steering
committee
• The Seniority System: Unequal but traditional
Leadership in the 108th U.S. Congress
• House of Representatives
•Speaker of the House: Dennis Hastert
•House Majority Leader: Tom DeLay
•House Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi
•House Majority Whip: Roy Blunt
•House Minority Whip: Steny Hoyer
• U.S. Senate
•President of Senate: Dick Cheney (essentially ceremonial)
•President pro tempore of the Senate: longest continuous service in majority party –
Ted Stevens of Alaska – 34 years – 5th most senior overall in the Senate
•Majority Floor Leader: Bill Frist
•Minority Floor Leader: Tom Daschle
•Senate Majority Whip: Mitch McConnell
•Senate Minority Whip: Harry Reid
How a Budget Bill Becomes a Law
• In 1922, the Congress required the president to prepare and present an
executive budget
• Became part of 13 appropriations bills
• In 1974, the Budget and Impoundment Control Act was passed
• Requires the president to spend the funds that Congress has appropriated
• It also forced Congress to examine total taxing and spending twice in each
budget cycle by the General Accounting Office (GAO)
• All tax bills begin in the House chamber
• The (FY) Fiscal Year is from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30
– It is prepared 18 months prior by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB), the Council of Economic Advisers, and the Treasury
– OMB outlines the budget and sends it to the different depts.
– Bargaining follows among the departments
– OMB gathers documents for a Spring Review and a Fall Review
– Economic Report of the President is out by January
How a Bill Becomes a Law, Cont.
• After January,
• Congress faces the budget in two steps:
– (1) Authorization (proposed bill)
• On the advice of committees, subcommittees and the Congressional
Budget Office (CBO) Then sent to Appropriation Committees in
each chamber
– (2) Appropriation (final bill)
• Once funds are authorized, they are appropriated
• Congress does not have to appropriate all the money
– The First budget resolution is in May
• It sets the proposed overall spending targets and goals
• Long summer of budget fights
• Second budget resolution in September that sets binding limits on
taxes and spending for the FY beginning Oct. 1
• Continuing resolutions: When FYs start without a budget
Congressional Ethics
• The most serious public relations problem facing the Congress
today
• Could public financing of congressional campaigns be the
answer to problems of financial misconduct?
Hot Links to Selected Internet Resources:
• http://www.wadsworth.com/cgiwadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M2&discipline_number=20&
product_isbn_issn=0534592651
• http://www.wadsworth.com/politicalscience www.senate.gov/
• http://www.house.gov
• http://www.senate.gov
• http://www.rollcall.com
• http://www.pollingreport.com